A carnival of stories

Hippocampus Children’s Company is conducting a first-of-its-kind ‘Carnival of Stories’. The HOO’S Tales will be held on March 1 between10.30 am and 6 pm at Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park. The free event, which will have a variety of stories both in English and Kannada, is meant for children ranging from 5-12 years.

Storytellers, theatre artistes, mimes, puppeteers and ventriloquists will display their skills to recreate the magic of stories at ‘HOO’S Tales’. A total of around 30 performances through the day.

Deepthy Shekhar and her group Pipilika will bring you the unique and beautiful Japanese stoty-telling tradition, Kamishibhai or ‘Paper Stories’. Aadyantha will perform a play using elements gleaned from traditional Kannada theatres.

Leela Garady and her team Koutaka will stage the beautifully choreographed puppet performance of Kannada lore Punyakoti. The songs from the story have been interwoven into the performance and those who know them can join as well.

‘Once upon a time, long long ago...’ is an Indo-British team of theatre actors who will combine their unique experiences to bring the stories of Bakor Patel alive and ringing with laughter with slapstick comedy, song and a great deal of madness thrown in. Originally written in Gujarati by Harish Vyas, the stories are highly entertaining.

Patara is a group of experienced storytellers who are bringing their chest of stories of HOO’S Tales. Their repertoire ranges from folk to the contemporary and their style of narration is very interactive. Aadyantha will also perform a mime show, taking instances from the world of children. The performers will use mime to caricature somw of the funnier moments of a child’s life be it in home or school. NSS Sharma, a professional ventriloquist will regale children with madcap conversations.

Kirtana Kumar and Theatre Lab will present a show based on the famous book ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The performance will include various theatrical elements such as song, mime, and movement.

While the day-long carnival is open for children (and their parents), the performances are ideal for classes one to six. For details contact 25630206

Dance fest

Kristu Jayanti College Cultural and Literary Association conducted ‘Nrithyanjali - 08’ an inter-collegiate regional level dance fest on Feb 22 and 23.The dance fest was inaugurated by Padmini Ramachandran, a renowned Bharathanatyam dancer, Fr Josekutty PD, Principal, Fr Issac P J (Director of Computer Science Dept, Fr Jose P J (HOD of MSW), faculty co-ordinator Dr Calistus Jude and student coordinators Soumya Sriram and Irvin George.

Padmini expressed the literal meaning of dance to the budding talents. She said Nrityanjali is a platform to bring out their talents. One of the biggest cultural fiestas in Bangalore, there were 20 dance events scheduled for two days and1,000 participants from all the colleges in Bangalore.

Nrithyanjali featured a wide range of dances like Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Kathakali and spanning the entire spectrum of of folk dance ranging from ‘bhangra’, ‘bihu’ dance, Tamil Nadu ‘kollattam’, ‘Janapada’ dance etc.The overall championship was bagged by Jyothi Nivas College.

Farewell time

The farewell party for students of Std X and XII of Acharya Pathasala Public School was hosted at the Country Club on February 2. The students symbolically lit candles from the Principal’s candle signifying the imparting of values, knowledge and wisdom by the school. The Principal urged the students to spread the light of joy and peace wherever they go. She also emphasized the need for responsible and mature individuals in today's world.

The outgoing students in turn pledged to keep the name of the school high forever and to bring accolades to themselves and to their alma mater. Students recalled their fond memories. Many teachers were misty-eyed at the glowing tributes that were given to them by these students.

The feast began with cutting of the cake followed by games and frolic laced with a good deal of emotions, smiles and tears. Definitely, it was a day to remember and an unforgettable photograph for an album of school memories.

Mr and Miss Talented

Florence Public High School, R T Nagar, had an interesting event in February, the Mr and Miss Talented 2007-08. Students, who had won previously in various competitions held throughout the year, gained entry into this mega event. Each student was asked to speak at the assembly.The participants were asked to introduce themselves in a witty manner and speak about their talents. The titles were awarded to students based on their innovative and enterprising answers. The winners were presented with a sash and a certificate. Nishal Pasha was selected as Mr Talented andNirmita Roy (Miss Talented), Gowrish Kumar bagged Mr Talented - 1st Runner Up and  Shivika Khanna was Miss Talented 1st Runner-Up, Abrar K Syed was crowned Mr Talented 2nd Runner - Up and Fariyal Ameena, Miss Talented 2nd Runner-Up.